


Didn't See That Come-Around

by kuonji



Category: due South
Genre: Character Study, F/M, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-06
Updated: 2011-09-06
Packaged: 2017-10-23 12:29:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/250322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuonji/pseuds/kuonji
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>When Stella first heard the rumors about what Constable Fraser and her ex-husband were doing, she dismissed them as laughable.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Didn't See That Come-Around

**Author's Note:**

> Alternative Links:  
> <http://kuonji14.livejournal.com/45677.html>

When Stella first heard the rumors about what Constable Fraser and her ex-husband were doing, she dismissed them as laughable.

Ray -- her former Ray -- had been her best friend since junior high school. She knew him inside and out, and she remembered his snide remarks and vocal put-downs. In good humor, yes, but she had no doubt that his feelings had been genuine.

Then one day Ray told her himself. She didn't believe him, and she said so. It had to be some joke on his part. But, no. He explained, and she was convinced. Not to mention, thoroughly mystified. But oh, he was excited and happy and nearly vibrating out of his skin with that energy that she had used to see from him before a boxing match or a bust (or before they made love). So how could she say anything but, "I'm happy for you."

It was only when her husband -- Ray, her Ray now -- got involved that she was truly taken aback.

Ray Kowalski, she could understand to some degree. He had always been a little _different_. It was part of what she loved about him. Plus, he had enjoyed the hell out of his adventure in Canada. Ray Vecchio, on the other hand, purported to break out in a cold sweat if he so much as saw a picture of a skating rink.

Although Ray freely admitted to loving Fraser with a helplessly illogical, life-threatening strength of feeling, whenever she'd brought up the subject of Fraser and her ex-husband's new... hobby, he'd used to make derisive comments about how snow and ice drove a person insane.

"You're not serious," she said, still taking it in. Even as she said it, though, she recalled the excuses and the evenings away and the subtle but distinctive scent of showered-and-changed on him coming in the door.

He looked deeply abashed -- and guilty. He rubbed one hand over his head in a nervous gesture. "I didn't want to. Wouldn't even talk about it at first. But Benny, he kept coming after me week after week, and he'd get that look in his eye -- you know that look -- and I just..."

"You gave in to him, like always," she said, resigned already to empty evenings alone, feeling excluded and confused. She remembered that from her first marriage.

"No, no, it's not like that. It's, uh, it's okay. Kinda fun."

"Fun," she repeated.

"Yeah. And Stanley-- Ray," he corrected himself when she gave him a warning look. "He's not bad. We're really getting along."

That was what she'd hoped for, of course. She'd never stopped feeling just a tiny bit guilty over her new relationship. So this... This was a good thing.

"I'll stop if you want me to," Ray offered. He seemed serious about that, too, but she could see the disappointment alongside the apology in his expression.

She sighed, because Ray had had that same look when he used to come home from the ring, keyed up and bruised and speaking a lingo she didn't understand. She knew she couldn't handle this the same way she had then.

"I'm going with you from now on," she said.

She knew she'd made the right decision when his face lit up.

Four months later, Stella was in the front row, her hands clenched into fists, watching her former and present husbands side by side together in matching dress. They were both tense and working fast, with twin looks of concentration on their faces while Constable Fraser, watching intently, yelled, "Hard! _Hard!_ "

Later, when Constable Turnbull, the fourth member of the Chicago Liaisons curling team, threw the last stone that won them the game, Stella was on her feet cheering with the rest of the surprisingly large crowd. She didn't pretend to understand how this had happened, but she was glad it had.

  
END.

**Author's Note:**

> Come-around: _Any shot that curls around another rock_
> 
> Everything I know about curling comes from [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curling) and [Men With Brooms](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0263734/).
> 
> * * *
> 
> If you enjoyed this story, you might try these:  
>       [The Phoenix And The Turtle](http://kuonji14.livejournal.com/40067.html) (Due South), by kuonji  
>       [G-Forces](http://community.livejournal.com/sga_flashfic/323832.html) (Stargate Atlantis), by kuonji  
>       [Soft](http://themoo.uskeba.ca/soft.html) (Due South), by The Moo


End file.
